Under the Dome

Capitol Update, July 10 thru Aug. 6, 2007

Cynthia Ann Paul

July 12th Governor Granholm Signed New Business Tax - The Michigan Business Tax (SB 94, PA 36) was signed into law. This new tax replaces the Single Business Tax that expires on December 31. Please see the previous Under the Dome Column at http://seiumi.org/news/press.cfm?pressReleaseID=2104 for more detail on the Michigan Business Tax.

Michigan Promise Expanded to Out of State Students, Signed by the Governor-Under House Bill 4595, Sponsored by Representative Angerer, Michigan teenagers who attend high school out of state will be eligible for the $4,000 Michigan Promise Grant. The legislation is intended to cover roughly 40 students who live in border communities in Michigan, but attend private high schools in another state and it also covers children of military personnel stationed outside of Michigan. Department of Treasury estimates an increase cost to the state of $80,000 to $160,000. Governor Granholm signed this as Public Act 42 of 2007.

Allow Non-Instructional School Employees Right to Bargain over the Issue of Outsourcing Passes the House- HB 4533 sponsored by Rep. Meisner would repeal the portions of Public Act 112 of 1994 that prohibits public school employer and their employees’ representative from bargaining over the issue of contracting out for non-instructional support services and its impact on the involved employees. It passed the House by a 60/46 vote and has been sent to the Senate Education Committee. Please see record roll call # 268 to see how your representative voted on this legislation at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(nijpsd55dmolwtj233ovsl55))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2007-HJ-07-25-073

Please make your voice heard on this critical piece of legislation and take action at
http://seiuaction.org/campaign/restorefairness.

Worker Freedom Act Passes the House-HB 4316 sponsored by Rep. Meadows creates a new act called the “Worker Freedom Act” under which an employer could not require an employee to attend and employer-sponsored meeting or participate in any communication with the employer if the primary purpose is to communicate the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters. Political matters would include party affiliation or the decision to join or not to join a labor organization or other lawful political, social, or community group or activity. Please see record roll call # 258 to see how your representative voted on this legislation at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ktfv35554vavpf55ogtont45))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2007-HJ-07-18-070

House Passes a Bill to Allow Clerks to Automatically Mail out Absentee Voter Applications to the Elderly, House Bill 4553- This bill allows Clerks to automatically send out absentee voter applications to qualified and registered voters age 60 and older even if one is not requested. This bill passed the House July 25th by a vote of 96/12 and has been sent to the Senate Campaign and Election Oversight Committee. Please see record roll call # 272 to see how your representative voted on this legislation at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(m5rsfe554y10khmwf3fwpji4))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2007-HJ-07-25-073

House Approves Bills no Longer Requiring Drivers License and Voter Id. to Match, House Bills 4447 & 4448- These bills amending the Michigan Election Law and the Michigan Vehicle Code to permit a voter to have a different resident address on his or her driver license from that recorded in the qualified voter file. Undoing a very onerous requirement aimed at disenfranchising and silencing the vote of many young people attending college, pushed by then State Senator Mike Rogers. House Bill 4447 passed 58 /50; and House Bill 4448 passed 57/ 51, both of these bills have been referred to the Senate Campaign and Election Oversight Committee. Please see record roll call votes # 273 and # 274 to see how your representative voted on this legislation at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(m5rsfe554y10khmwf3fwpji4))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2007-HJ-07-25-073

House Approves Legislation to Disinvest Assets from Sudan and Iran, House Bills 4854 and 4903-Officials of the Public Employee Retirement System will have to identify, notify and potentially disinvest assets held in companies doing business with Sudan and Iran. These bills are meant to ensure that the state does not support governments with identified terrorist organizations in their country, or those participating in the situations in Darfur. Two House Resolutions, HR 59 and HR 63 ask Congress to disinvest assets held in both countries, as well as provide humanitarian endeavors to Darfur. These bills and resolutions passed the House on July 24th. House Bill 4854 passed the House by a vote of 103/2 and House Bill 4903 passed the House by a vote of 104/2 and both have been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee. For more information on how your state representative voted on these bills please see record roll call votes #261 and #262 at
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(m5rsfe554y10khmwf3fwpji4))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2007-HJ-07-24-072

New Food Safety Standards Passes the House, House Bill 4956- Requiring all restaurants and other facilities selling prepared food would have to have a manager certified in food safety on duty. That person would be responsible for not only ensuring that proper sanitation rules were followed but also that ill employees were not handling food. Under the new standards, any employee who has been vomiting or had diarrhea could not return to work for 24 hours after symptoms ended, 48 hours if the illness is diagnosed as norovirus. This passed the House on July 25 by a unanimous vote of 106/0 and has been referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Workplace Smoking Ban Clears Committee and on the House Floor, House Bill 4163- By a vote of 12/4/1, the House Commerce Committee passed a bill, which bans smoking in all Michigan workplaces. The substitute exempts cigar bars that have 30 percent or more of their sales from tobacco or tobacco related products. Retail establishments with 75 percent or more of their sales from tobacco or tobacco related products are exempt. Included in this bill are employee protections and collective bargaining rights.

Safe Patient Care Legislation-Testimony Taken up Again- House Bill 4339, sponsored by State Representative Wojno, requires hospitals to develop acuity based staffing plans and implement minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and prohibit hospitals from mandating overtime to meet these standards. After two jammed packed committee hearings of testimony the House Labor Committee was poised to move this bill out of committee on July 24th, but the committee was short one vote, because Rep. Hopgood was absent due to his wife being in labor. Anticipate this moving in the VERY NEAR future. Please make your voice heard on this critical piece of legislation and take action at
http://seiuaction.org/campaign/standmi2003_clone/explanation

Senate Joint Resolution E, Testimony taken and Discharged from Committee- SJR E amends the state constitution by prohibiting the Governor from recommending, and the legislature from appropriating, an amount over 96% of the January revenue estimate. Furthermore, it would require a 2/3's vote in each house of the legislature to pass a supplemental appropriation bill or a withdrawal of funds from the Budget Stabilization Fund. Please understand that this is a spending limit, similar to TABOR, although not as sweeping as TABOR in terms of the stranglehold on local governments.

House Judiciary Committee Reported Out School Volunteer Sex Crime Bill, SB 386, Provides criminal penalties for volunteers and contractual workers for schools who engage in criminal sexual conduct with students. The House substitute to the bill specifies that the person must use the position at the school to establish a relationship.

House Judiciary Committee Approves Retired Police Officers CCW Clarification, HBs 4611 and HB 4612, sponsored by Rep. Jones, clarifies the authority of retired police officers to carry concealed weapons. This legislation allows retired officers to comply with federal CCW law and it also allows the officers to act in emergency situations using their concealed weapons.

Presidential Primary Bills Clears Senate Campaign and Election Oversight Committee, SBs 624 and 625- Allowing Michigan voters to participate in a partially closed presidential primary for both the Democratic and Republican parties as early as next January 29. Supporters claim that the measures will give Michigan voters a chance to help influence who the two major parties will nominate for president in 2008. These bills are on the Senate Floor.

Panel to Examine Retiree Health Care- The House Retiree Health Care Reforms Committee was created to develop a new strategy toward public sector retiree health care. Representative Meadow is chairing the committee and other members include: Rep(s) Coulouris, Calley, Spade, Knollenberg, Johnson, and Wenke. This committee will review the current scope of benefits offered in the four public retirement plans, the cost of administering the programs, stop loss provisions, prescription drug costs, the program’s association with Medicare and how to fund the result of these reforms. This committee will be meeting throughout the month of August and September at 10:30 AM in Room # 521 of the House Office Building.

House Appropriations Looking at Telephone Tax, House Appropriations took testimony on House Bill 4852, that would impose a new monthly tax of $1.35 on all telephone services to finance various law enforcement efforts. The measure would add a new $1.35 a month tax to all landline, cell phones and voice over Internet protocol that would be assessed in addition to a 29-cent fee charged cell phones for 911 services and a monthly surcharge assessed landline telephones for 911 service. Money from the fund would be distributed as follows:?24.4% to fund the Public Safety Communications System; ?9.3% to fund the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards; ?11.1% to fund the Criminal Justice Information System;?1.9% to the fund Prosecuting Attorney's Coordinating Council;?6.6% to fund the Bureau of Fire Services;?14.8% to the Traffic Law Enforcement and Safety Fund;?23% to fund the Forensic Science Division if the Michigan State Police;?0.75% to support the Detroit Police Department crime lab;?0.75% to support 911 non-emergency diversion; 7.4% to support probation and parole monitoring systems.
Law enforcement officials are all over the map with respect to their position on this bill.

Department of Agriculture Director, Mitch Irwin, is leaving by August 15 to return to his private business, the Irwin Group. The Commission on Agriculture will be deciding a replacement the first part of September and has designated Chief Deputy Phyllis Mellon - who came to the department seven months ago from DMB - as interim director.

Department of Human Services Director, Marianne Udow, is also leaving to return to her private sector employer to work on new joint venture between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and University of Michigan Health Systems.

Right to Work Rumors are Flying Around the Capitol as one of the many Reforms requested by Senator Bishop. If you have not taken action on SEIU’s letter writing campaign on this issue, please take action at http://seiuaction.org/campaign/righttowkseiumi2

Insurance Rally, Longtime friend of SEIU, Senator, Martha Scott, who has tirelessly argued for relief from high insurance rates for the residents of Detroit and to stop the practice of redlining done by insurance companys will be holding a rally on the Capitol steps on the issue, Wednesday, September 26, at 12 p.m.

Budgets:

Department of Environmental Quality Budget Clears the House (HB 4358)- It is $18.8 million in general fund spending above current year appropriations, or 61.2 percent. The budget overall is $372.7 million, of which $50 million is paid for with general funds. It represents a 14.6 percent, or $63.8 million, cut in funding for the department as restricted fund spending for the DEQ is reduced $78 million, or 31.4 percent, in the budget compared to current year appropriations. The major difference between the House and governor's spending is that it does not include the executive's eight proposed fee increases and instead spends $16.3 million in general funds to pay for the various programs associated with the fees. Included in this budget is a reduction in general fund spending by $1.3 million in the drinking water revolving fund (there is a $7.5 million gross reduction in this line item). It also contains $2 million in reduced restricted fund spending for refined petroleum product cleanup because of reduced revenues. Boilerplate was added to require the DEQ and Department of Agriculture report on the confined animal feeding operations inspection program. The bill was amended to include $250,000 for real-time water quality monitoring grant for the St. Clair watershed.

Department of Natural Resources Budget Clears the House (HB 4354)- It is $310.9 million of which $26.4 million comes from the general fund. It is 10.2 percent gross, or $28.9 million, above current year spending but $21 million of that increased spending is in restricted funds (there is a $2 million increase, or 8.5 percent, in general fund spending above current year). It assumes that hunting and fishing license fees will increase as proposed by Governor Jennifer Granholm, which will bring in $1.8 million in restricted revenue. If the license hikes aren't approved, $7.8 million will cut the game and fish protection fund license line item. It restores the Forest Finance Authority with $20 million in funds from the 21st Century Jobs Fund that was cut as part of the current fiscal year budget deficit. It includes reduced spending in the forest development fund due to a decrease in incoming revenue of $6.5 million gross. It contains increased funding for cormorant population control by $150,000, doubling current year spending, and an additional $250,000 in restricted funds to off-road-vehicle trail improvement projects. Conservation districts will receive $1 million in funding.

State Police Budget Kicked out of Subcommittee (HB 4353)- It is $563.8 million of which $266.6 is paid for with general funds, representing a 0.5 percent reduction in overall spending for the department from the current fiscal year, or $2.6 million (there is a loss of $23 million in federal funds for mainly homeland security and $5.2 million in restricted funds). The general fund appropriation for the upcoming year is $25.4 million, or 10.5 percent, above current year spending. The Subcommittee approved two $150 placeholders for keeping the State Police post in Calumet open, as well as hiring an additional 10 fire investigators. It also includes at-post trooper operational funding for $6 million, along with $2.5 million for a 50-member recruit trooper school. The bill also contains $1.9 million in general fund spending to cover information technology project costs that have a shortfall in funding.

Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Budget Kicked out of Subcommittee (HB 4356)- It is $128 million of which $40.9 million is paid for with general funds. Gross appropriations are 3.4 percent, or $4.2 million above current year spending and general fund spending is 4.2 percent, or $1.6 million, higher than appropriations in 2006-2007. It is $117,300 above the governor's recommendation. The increase goes to veterans' service organizations grants, which is a 3 percent increase. It authorizes fee charges for the use of the new Michigan Regional Training Institute at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, which is $1.5 million in restricted funds. It also contains $832,200 in federal funding increases for the National Guard Bureau and for expansion of the Starbase program at Fort Custer. It offsets certain general fund expenditures with federal and restricted funds as they pertain to the Grand Rapids Veterans' Home and the D.J. Jacobetti Veteran's Home. It also eliminates four armory maintenance mechanic job vacancies, saving $300,000 in general funds. It contains $74,200 in general funds for a 3.3 percent federal cost of living increase for military retirement.

In the Courts:

The Michigan Supremes Uphold Michigan's Voter Identification Law – On July 18th, Michigan joined 19 other states requiring photo or other proof that voters are who they say they are. A 5-2 majority of the Supreme Court, in an advisory opinion issued, upheld the requirement, dismissing arguments that it infringed on voter rights or constituted an illegal poll tax.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge, Cynthia Stephens, Struck Down Detroit's Living Wage ordinance. Stephens dismissed a claim by employees of Guardian Protective Services for wages and benefits owed under Detroit’s living wage law, which was passed by an overwhelming majority in a ballot initiative almost ten years ago.

Macomb County Circuit Court Gives nod to mail out absentee voter applications- Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh has been given the green light to continue mailing absentee ballot applications to all county residents over 60 years old. The court dismissed the lawsuit challenging this action.

Federal Level:

SCHIP Update- The first week in August, the House and Senate voted to expand health care for millions of uninsured children by extending the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for another five years. The measure gives coverage to an additional 3.2 million children. SCHIP currently provides coverage to 6.6 million children and was set to expire this fall. The extension passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 31 and the House by a vote of 225 to 204.

The Supreme Court’s Decision on Home Care Workers and the FLSA-The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that homecare workers employed by third-party agencies fall within the Fair Labor Standards Act’s companionship exemption and are thus entitled neither to the minimum wage nor additional compensation for overtime based on a 1975 Department of Labor regulation.